Cinéma

n. – cinema or movie theatre
Espace
n. – outer space
Place
n. – space or room
I’ve only been to two films since we moved to Paris a year ago. It’s not that I don’t like movies; we watch plenty of DVD’s and movies on TV. It’s just that with the theatre comes the people and it’s not that I don’t like people, but at a theatre there tends to be too many of them.

Here this is coupled with the fact that movie theatres like so many other venues in Paris are crowded and small; not necessarily in their size, but in the spacing between seats and more importantly rows. Our knees were butted up against the row in front of us and neither my husband nor I are extraordinarily tall.

Parisians, like many Europeans, have a different sense of space than Americans. Where we like things large, big cars, big houses and lots of room to move around, here it is the opposite. Houses are outnumbered by apartments that even if generous in size, are made up of many small sized rooms. The new Mini Cooper looks like an Escalade next to the Smart and even the original Mini, which I have the impression I could just pick up with my hands if I needed to.

So we felt a little claustrophobic at our latest movie experience because it was a recently released 3D blockbuster that was sold out. We enjoyed it, but given the conditions, I would have enjoyed it just as much if it were a tad shorter. By the end, I had a bruise on my nose from the 3D glasses, which was an indication to me that too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.

Movie tickets can be ordered online here just like we used to do in New York. We paid a premium for the 3D theatre and with the exchange rate it came close to $30. With a small bottle of water and small popcorn we added another $10, but in fairness since the movie was so long, this covered almost an entire afternoon’s entertainment. Here you have a choice of popcorn that is “sucré” or “salé,” sweet or salty. You don’t however see the giant tubs that look like kiddie pools and there is no super size option where you can have said tub for a quarter more. And this is a good thing because the bigger you are here, the less room there is for you.

I think we will go back to enjoying our movies on our couch for the moment. Couches here are called “canopés,” not to be confused with those served as hors d’oeuvres. Ours can technically seat three people, but more comfortably two. My in-laws, being French, like to squish in as closely as possible, maximizing the space and proximity. Their couch is even smaller yet when we gather around at their place, they will say, “Viens ici, il y a place sur la canopé,” “Come over here, there’s room on the couch,” to which I always think, no there isn’t. And again, don’t get me wrong I have nothing against being close to my in-laws since they are the nicest people you could ever know.

It’s just at this time of year when winter coats and accessories take up ever more precious space wherever you go, I miss having that little bit of extra room I’m used to. Well in just a few months, the cold grey blanket that covers Paris will start to open up to blue skies and sunshine. Winter’s claustrophobia will make way for the openness of summer and with it, the latest blockbuster movie that I will then be ready to venture out to the theatre to see.